***The official Alden thread *** Share enthusiasm, reviews, sizing, advice, and photos.

[JSO1]

color 4 (or maybe color 2) is just ruby from Carmina right?

Carmina's Rubi is color #2.

 

[mdubs]

color 4 (or maybe color 2) is just ruby from Carmina right?

Color 2 and ruby are close to one another.

-Mike

 

[JSO1]



Color 2 and ruby are close to one another.

-Mike

I asked about this when I visited Horween. Nick told me that Carmina's rubi is just color #2, and they call it rubi because marketing.

Apparently, the reason Alden's color 2 LWBs look less red and more purple than Carmina's rubi is due to the whatever Alden did to the shell to make it a matte finish. All shells leave Horween with a shiny, glossy finish, and occasionally shoemakers will strip the glazing off. It seems that's what Alden did for the color 2 LWB, which changed the way the color looks.

Carmina, according to Nick, applies basically no additional dyes or finishes to the shells, thus making their shells some of the closest to pure Horween finish that you can get.

Of course, who knows for sure.

 

[mdubs]

Mike, I don't see natural shell on your graph, yet I know you own a few pairs. Please correct this oversight ASAP, m'kay???

PS, ever thought of dipping your toe into some Horween green shell, a la Carmina or AE?

Pepper, I intentionally cutoff the list after my third Ravello shoe. They are in descending order of darkness, so Black on top and Whiskey on bottom. Suedes and CXL are at the very bottom below Shell Cordovan makeups.

The graph is made via an "Analysis" tab, which I haven't updated in a while. I guess that I should just convert it into a pivot table so that it updates more dynamically...

I thought a lot about getting a Green Shell Cordovan model during the AE Trunk Show. I got very close, but decided against it, I do not regret that decision. I partly couldn't decide if I wanted a Double Monk, Tassel, or LWB. To me, since I usually dress formally or semi-formally, Green Shell would be useful on Christmas and St. Patrick's Day and that is about it. My good friend, MrDV, has a Green Shell LWB from Carmina. He advised me against getting the Green Shell. Pretty sure he has worn those LWBs maybe once or twice...

-Mike

 

[Raneleigh]

He is still pissed cause he thought they were coming with a catspaw sole

Yes damn it, yes! LOL! When did they stop doing that? 1952? Was that really the last time I bought Aldens??

 

[bespoken pa]

All previous pictures are photshopped ravellos there is no color 4.....simply a myth.

 

[Bonggoy]

Do you guys know we're can one get Alden shell color 4 I have called Alden dc, Cali no luck

and if any of gentelman be able to post pic so I know what it looks like clearly would be greatly appricated.

Try Alden of San Diego.

 

[Kahuna75]

Quote: Terrible customer service...

 

[mdubs]

Try Alden of San Diego.

They are currently on backorder in all sizes... ;-)

 

[mdubs]

Terrible customer service...

Ouch!

 

[mdubs]

All previous pictures are photshopped ravellos there is no color 4.....simply a myth.

No! Not true at all!

Did I ever mention my Purplevello LWBs?



-Mike

 

[RevisIsland]



My last new arrival for quite some time (time to sell sell sell!)

Haha famous last words- just wait until AoC gets a surprise delivery of ravello lwbs or someone lists a barely worn pair of cigar indys in your size....

Alot of action this afternoon on the Alden thread. Half day summer fridays?

Mike- nice work on the ss. I did something similar to track spending on my shoes. Maybe I'll track wears for fun, but I know my winner - color 8 LWB by a mile. I have to be north of 300 wears by now.

Everyone enjoy the weekend and wear your Aldens in good health.

 

[JSO1]

Haha famous last words- just wait until AoC gets a surprise delivery of ravello lwbs or someone lists a barely worn pair of cigar indys in your size....

Heh. I passed on a pair of cigar indy boots recently, as I'm not a huge fan of the indy pattern/stitching (gasp!), and I already have a ravello LWB (and another on preorder...).

Now, if someone were to make available a whiskey LWB in 8C or 8D or a color #4 wingtip boot, my story might change...

 

[Raneleigh]

I totally see where you are coming from. My question to you is; Let's assume you have the $600 Alden and a $1200 calf shoe from a different maker. What sets that $1200 shoe apart from the Alden that is made of calf and is constructed in a similar manner? "Paying for the brand" is not a reasonable excuse as 99% of world could only name Nike and Reebok if you asked them to name a couple of shoe brands.

For me, in my opinion, it is things like quality of stitching, overall finishing and QC that sets makers apart. Give Alden and <insert high end brand here> the same materials and that high end maker will produce a better product.

I think getting a perfect Alden is more LUCKY than UNLUCKY. I'd say you had a pretty good run going for your first 90%...it was bound to end.

I think the bigger question is...what determines price? And is that price justified? I've seen $600 shoes where the difference between them and $1,200 shoes is negligible. I've also seen $1,200 shoes that don't deserve to be. So I don't think it's a fair assumption that a $1,200 pair of shoes automatically has a better quality of stitching and overall finishing as well as a higher level of QC versus a $600 pair of shoes. $600 is a substantial sum for a pair of shoes. At that level, fit and finish should be outstanding in my opinion and the law of diminishing marginal returns should come into play beyond that dollar mark.

Regardless, what I do know is that a heritage brand like Alden, where the shoes are crafted by hand in America and the website has a section devoted to "standards of quality", should not even remotely let shoes with the defects I encountered (not once, but twice in a row) out of their hands. If I had only received one pair in this condition, I would have chalked it up as one that just fell through the cracks. Receiving two with the same issues instills a lack of confidence that a third pair would yield any better results.

If I've just been lucky in receiving decent quality Aldens thus far and my luck was bound to end, then what are we doing here beside drinking the kool-aid? How is it acceptable that we roll the dice and write checks for $500+ and just accept the good with the bad with a smile on our faces? What we need to do is demand better! Otherwise, what motivation is there to improve? We are simply rewarding a company for an acceptable pair of expensive shoes 50 percent of the time!

Ok, rant over.

 

[bespoken pa]

Purplevello........offer of 5k.....please sell them to me quick before moosic finds out.